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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24592660">Shake It Off</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Signsofsam/pseuds/Signsofsam'>Signsofsam</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>I Hate Accidents (Except When We Went From Friends To This) [14]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>9-1-1 (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Evan Buckley's Crap Parents, Family Feels, Future Fic, Hurt/Comfort, I have no regrets, Light Angst, M/M, Not Beta Read, One Shot, Slice of Life, idek</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 09:21:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,374</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24592660</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Signsofsam/pseuds/Signsofsam</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>This shouldn’t be happening.</p>
<p>Buck is thirty-three years old and he hasn’t seen his parents in fifteen years, hasn’t talked to them since the day of his and Eddie’s engagement party, so why did they chose now, after all these years, now that his life is full of love and family, to try to sink their claws back in his life? And why did it have to be this one particular day, where he’s not on top of his game?</p>
<p>“<i>Mi amor</i>?” Eddie’s voice cuts through his panic, and there is warmth as his hand grabs Bucks, squeezing tightly, and he opens his eyes, and there Eddie is, his husband. His support, his steadfast rock, steadying him once again. “I”m here. No matter what happens when we get there, you’ve got me in your corner, always. You’ve got our boys, our family.”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>I Hate Accidents (Except When We Went From Friends To This) [14]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1584202</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>440</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>9-1-1 Tales</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Shake It Off</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Gave serious thought into calling this <i>Haters Gonna Hate (hate hate)</i> but decided I couldn't be quite <i>that</i> ridiculous. I've wanted to write a Meet Buck's Shit Parents!fic for awhile now, and behold, my attempt. I don't even know, y'all, I hope you like it.</p>
<p>Title is obviously from Taylor Swift's <i>Shake it Off</i>.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Buck leans back in his seat, trying to get comfortable as the ladder truck heads back to the firehouse. He can feel Hen’s eyes on him, assessing how he’s moving, but he’s just sore, and really, a hot shower and <em> home </em> is going to do him a lot better than sitting in some ER waiting for them to tell him that he’s banged up but not broken. He’d already let Eddie give him a once over on the scene while Hen and Chim were tending to the kid he’d rescued, and his husband had been thorough, chiding him that he wasn’t in his twenties anymore, and honestly? That stung more than the aches from jumping half a story off a collapsing staircase and landing on his back.  </p>
<p>He’s thirty three; he’s not <em> old</em>, thank you very much. <em> And </em> he saved a little girl.</p>
<p>He just has to make it back to the firehouse, and they can hand off to the next shift and he and Eddie can go home to their kids for a long weekend.  </p>
<p>He hears the chime of his phone’s notifications, and blindly reaches for it, pawing around for a few seconds before he feels Eddie’s hand take his, moving it out of the way as he retrieves Buck’s phone. “It’s Nate,” Eddie murmurs, and Buck’s eyes fly open. He unlocks his phone and gets into his messages, wide smile breaking out as he shows the picture to Eddie. Nate’s obviously taken it, and it’s of Chris, but they’re both standing at the counter, and Chris has a lasagna noodle stretched out in hand, a little bit of sauce smeared on his cheek. He hadn’t sent a message with it, just the photo, like he knew in that moment that Buck needed to see it.</p>
<p>“Let’s hope there’s some actual food going into the oven,” Eddie murmurs, but he’s grinning, too. Bobby glances back at them, and Buck shows him as well. </p>
<p>“Is that my lasagna recipe?”</p>
<p>“I’d assume so. You made it for us for dinner earlier this week when the boys were here, right?” Buck knows how much Nate likes Bobby, how much he appreciates it when the older man takes the time to explain what he’s cooking and shows him what to do, and he <em> also </em> knows how much Bobby enjoys teaching someone else how to cook. </p>
<p>“Yeah. If it’s the same thing, you two are in for a good meal tonight. He did a fantastic job helping. Chris looks like he’s also a superb sous chef.” </p>
<p>It doesn’t take them long at the firehouse (<em> thank god </em>), and Buck can feel the soreness in every fiber of his body as he follows Eddie to their truck, his husband hefting both their bags into the back seat before opening the passenger door for Buck. “We’ll be home soon,” Eddie promises, kissing Buck softly. “I’ll take care of you.”</p>
<p>“Never had any doubts about that,” Buck answers, shifting and wincing as he tries to get comfortable. “I just need a hot shower, I think, probably to sleep. I’ll be fine.”</p>
<p>“I know, but I don’t like seeing you like this. It hurts my heart when you’re hurt.”</p>
<p>“You’re too sweet to me, Eddie. I’m going to be fine. You know I’m going to be fine. We’ll get home, and see what destruction our boys have caused without supervision, and then I’ll leave you to clean it up and go shower and sleep.” Eddie laughs, gently cupping Buck’s cheek, and Buck kisses his palm. They sit like that for a moment, watching each other, still getting lost in each other even after all these years-</p>
<p>And then Buck’s phone goes off, and he frowns when he sees Nate’s name on the screen. “Nate? We’re on our way-”</p>
<p>“How...how far are you?” His voice sounds strained, and Buck’s frown deepens. He knows Eddie is concerned, but he’s got the truck in gear, gunning it to their house.</p>
<p>“We’re just now leaving. Are you okay?”</p>
<p>“I mean, yeah, Chris and I are fine, but, um…there are two people at the door, and they say they’re your parents? I didn’t...I don’t know what to do?” </p>
<p>“Are you inside?”</p>
<p>“Yeah. I didn’t let them in, or anything.”</p>
<p>“I’m not worried about that, kiddo. Stay inside, don’t let them talk to you. You’ve got Athena’s number. If they try to talk to you again, if they knock on the door, you call her and tell her. We’re coming, we’re hurrying.”</p>
<p>“Okay. Should I be worried? Should I-?”</p>
<p>“My parents are horrible people, Nate, but they’re there to see me. Just stay inside. You’re a fantastic kid, you know that?”</p>
<p>He can feel Nate’s smile. “Well, I now have two great dads, so that helps. Oh, and Chris and I sampled the lasagna and you’re gonna have to tell Bobby I’m coming for his cooking king title, if I do say so myself.”</p>
<p>It puts Buck in a slightly better mood as he gets off the phone, glancing over to Eddie, who’s waiting patiently for him to speak. “My parents are at the house.”</p>
<p>“Fuck.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, exactly. I don’t even know how they found me, Eddie. I don’t talk to them. Maddie doesn’t talk to them. There’s a reason for that.” He squeezes his eyes closed, pinching the bridge of his nose, trying to calm himself down. </p>
<p>This can’t be happening.</p>
<p><em> This shouldn’t be happening</em>.</p>
<p>Buck is thirty-three years old and he hasn’t seen his parents in fifteen years, hasn’t talked to them since the day of his and Eddie’s engagement party, so why did they chose <em> now</em>, after all these years, now that his life is full of love and family, to try to sink their claws back in his life? And why did it have to be this one particular day, where he’s not on top of his game?</p>
<p>“<em>Mi amor</em>?” Eddie’s voice cuts through his panic, and there is warmth as his hand grabs Bucks, squeezing tightly, and he opens his eyes, and there Eddie is, his husband. His support, his steadfast rock, steadying him once again. “I”m here. No matter what happens when we get there, you’ve got me in your corner, always. You’ve got our boys, our family.”</p>
<p>“They always made me feel like no one should be in my corner. Like I didn’t deserve it,” Buck whispers softly. “They told me I was too much work, that I was exhausting, that no one could love me because it was too much work.”</p>
<p>“Well, that’s obviously a lie, because it is so very easy to love you, Evan, and I hope you know that. I hope you can see that now. I fell in love with you as easily as I breathe, because it’s <em> natural </em> to love you.”</p>
<p>Buck laughs, pulling their joined hands to his lips, pressing a kiss against Eddie’s hand. “Sweet talker,” he teases, but Eddie’s settled him again, enough that he’s going to be able to deal with Robert and Martha Buckley. They spend the rest of the drive in silence, Eddie’s hand never leaving Buck’s, his thumb trailing soothingly over Buck’s callused knuckles. </p>
<p>When they pull into the driveway forty minutes later, there’s a black SUV parked on the curb. Buck stiffens, “You ready for this?” Eddie asks, and Buck nods. “I love you. Just remember, no matter what they say, no matter how many times they call you exhausting, remember that they don’t matter. They don’t know you like I know you, and like Chris knows you, and like Nate knows you. They don’t know you, and they don’t matter.” </p>
<p>And that's the truth of it-his parents don't matter because they aren't his family anymore. They aren't there during the bad times, or even the good times. They're part of the past he'd rather not dwell in, the past that may have shaped him, but has no part in the <em> now </em> that he's molded for himself. "I'll deal with them," he says finally, voice strong and confident. "You go ahead inside; I'm pretty sure I freaked Nate out."</p>
<p>"You sure? I don't mind staying with you."</p>
<p>"I know, but I think this is something I need to do on my own." <em>For once and for all</em>, he thinks to himself, but he knows Eddie is thinking it to, because his husband nods, leaning over the center console to kiss him softly. </p>
<p>They get out of the truck together, Eddie grabbing their bags as Buck shuffles his way to the porch, eyes on the SUV as the doors open. Eddie passes him on the porch, opening the front door, and Buck gives his most reassuring smile to Nate, watching from the living room, clearly unsure. Eddie closes the door behind him, and Buck turns to face his parents, arms crossed over his chest.</p>
<p>His father looks the same: hard, emotionless, though he's aged in the decade and a half since Buck's seen him. He's got more wrinkles, his hair is peppered with grey, and he's put on a few pounds, but he's also no longer the tall, intimidating presence of Buck's past; Buck's at least an inch or two taller now, and most definitely the more muscular of the two. His mother is every bit as fit and trim as she used to be, and still just as put together, as if someone of some consequence might be lurking around the corner. She’s still got the sharp, judgmental face of his past, as if time and her two children completely cutting her out of their lives had zero effect on her.</p>
<p>It's quite a revelation when he realizes he's no longer scared of these people.</p>
<p>"I don't know what you thought you were going to do here, but you need to leave," he starts as his father opens his mouth, and there's satisfaction when it snaps shut again. </p>
<p>"Evan, it's been awhile," his mother says, and his eyebrow arches in a <em> no shit </em> expression. "You didn't tell us you had children now." </p>
<p>"Well yeah, because life updates are reserved for family, and you aren't that."</p>
<p>"Don't you dare talk to your mother like-"</p>
<p>"I'll talk to her any way I damn well please, <em> Robert</em>. I'm not a little boy anymore, and you don't intimidate me. In case you can't see, I grew up and found out what familial love is supposed to be and frankly, you two can't are sorely lacking in that department. You can't make me feel like I don't deserve love, because I'm surrounded by people who love me every day, and those are the people that get to know what's going on in my life. So I don't know what you want here, or what you thought was going to happen, but you need to go. There's nothing I want from you, there's nothing I need from you, and frankly there's nothing else I care to say to you.”</p>
<p>“Those are our grandchildren, and we have a right to see them-”</p>
<p>“How old are they?”</p>
<p>She looks perturbed. “Excuse me?”</p>
<p>“If those are your grandchildren, how old are they? What are their names?” He’s making her uncomfortable, and he smiles. “Family would know that. You’d think the woman who calls them <em> grandchildren </em> would know that. Eddie’s mother certainly knows. Just like she knows their birthdays, and their favorite ice cream, and what they want to be when they grow up.”</p>
<p>“I-”</p>
<p>“You’re not their grandmother, just like you were never really my mom. I don’t think either of you are capable of being parental figures to anyone, and I would never let you around my boys because I would never subject them to people who would constantly pick them apart and make them feel less than. So, for the last time, get off my property and don’t come back. I’ll call the cops if I see you around here again.” </p>
<p>He doesn’t give them a chance to answer, and it feels <em> so good </em> to slam the front door in their face, closing a chapter of his life that he never intends to open again.  Eddie’s standing in the living room, and he can see the boys shuffling around in the kitchen, setting out the table, even if they’re both really watching Buck. “I-It’s done. I’m done with them, hopefully forever.”</p>
<p>Eddie grins at him, hugging him tight. “I heard. You did great, babe.”</p>
<p>“Just great?”</p>
<p>“Amazing. Incredible. Stunning. Marvelous. Unbelievable. Whichever word you like for ‘you’re the most impressive man I’ve ever met and I’m so lucky that not only do I get to love you, but that I get to share my life with you’.”</p>
<p>“That’s a real mouthful, Eds,” Buck whispers as he kisses Eddie, arms tightening around him until he can feel the ache returning to his body, his adrenaline gone. “If...if I wasn’t so sore,” he murmurs, their foreheads pressed together, “we’d just…”</p>
<p>“You’d be dealing with two teenagers?” Nate calls from the kitchen, Chris cackling beside him.</p>
<p>And well, doesn’t that just ruin whatever Buck was imagining?</p>
<p>They pull apart reluctantly, Buck slumping into his husband. “Go take a shower; we’re warming the lasagna back up, and we’ll wait for you.”</p>
<p>“You sure? I know you’re hungry, too.”</p>
<p>“If it means eating as a family? I’d rather wait.”</p>
<p>Tonight is going to be the last time Buck really gives thought to what he missed out on having Robert and Martha as parents, because it doesn’t matter now. His real family, his true family? It’s Eddie, and the look of absolute love he’s giving Buck right now and every day, and it’s Chris, and the way he smiles and says “Bucky,” and it’s Nate and how he wakes up early every Saturday because that’s when he and Buck get to go run together, and it’s Bobby and his fatherly affection and Maddie and Chim and Hen and Karen and Abuela and Pepa and so many other people he’s found. His life is full of family, cobbled together, some blood, but mostly not, made of the people most important to him, the people who make his life worth living.</p>
<p>He doesn’t have room for <em> family </em> like Robert and Martha, and he’s just fine with that.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So yep, that's what I've got. I hope you liked it, and please know all your kudos and comments are appreciated (even if I don't always comment back)! </p>
<p>I've got at least two more fics already in the works for the series, so here's to next time. Hope you all are staying safe, and if you want, you can find me <a href="https://signsofsam.tumblr.com/">here</a> on tumblr.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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